Many mobile devices are now configured to wirelessly access the Internet or other communication networks so that a user can browse content on the network using the mobile device. Often, however, a user of a mobile device will encounter several common situations that limit the user's ability to access the network using the mobile device. For example, a user may be entering into an area, such as an airplane, hospital, classroom, church, or the like, with known restrictions on mobile device usage and/or wireless network connectivity. In such a situation, the user must either turn off the phone, or at least disconnect from the network by other means, such as by changing the device from an “online” mode to an “offline” mode. In another example, a user's connection to the network may be limited or lost when the user is traveling from one location to another since the user may enter an area where the mobile device cannot wirelessly communicate with the network. In yet another example, the user may be accessing the network in a known hotspot that offers high-speed network connectivity. At some point, however, the user may have to leave the hotspot and, therefore, may have to disconnect from the network. While the transition to the offline mode may occur in response to a complete disconnection of the mobile device from all networks, the mobile device may also transition to an offline mode (relative to the network via which the mobile device had previously been communicating) in instances in which the mobile device switches networks. As such, “offline” relates to whether the mobile device is offline from the network that had previously been servicing the mobile device, regardless of whether the mobile device is now completely disconnected from all networks or is currently being service by another network.
Often times when a user is forced to disconnect from a network, such as the Internet, for the reasons listed above or for any other reason, the user is not finished browsing the network content that the user desires to browse. Furthermore, even if the user can quickly reconnect to the network, the user may not be able to easily return to the place in the network where the user had been browsing when the mobile device was disconnected from the network. In situations where the network content is frequently modified, when the user reconnects to the network at a later time, the user may not be able to find the link or content that the user was about to browse before the user was disconnected from the network, since the content or link may have been deleted or changed in the interim.
Another problem with accessing the Internet or other networks using a mobile device is that many network service providers charge a user based on the amount of time that a user is connected to the network. This type of payment structure may not be an efficient way for the user to browse information on the Internet, since the user may download a web page and spend a considerable amount of time looking at this web page before downloading another web page. In such a scenario, the user may be charged for all of the time that he or she is looking at the one web page, even though the user may not be using the network connection from the moment in time when the first web page is downloaded to the moment in time when the second web page is downloaded.
Currently, some web browsers are configured to perform an operation known as “pre-caching,” where the web browser instructs a device to download and store web pages before a user attempts to view or otherwise access the web page. In this way, if the user clicks on a link to a web page that has been pre-cached by the device, the device can display the web page to the user quicker than if the user had to wait for the device to download the web page. Such web browsers may also permit offline browsing, so that if a device temporarily loses service, the user can still perform limited browsing of any cached or pre-cached web pages. A problem with current caching and pre-caching systems is that they perform the caching or pre-caching functions continuously, whenever the user is connected to the network. This can present a significant problem for mobile devices since caching and pre-caching operations require significant processing power and battery power, both of which may be precious to the mobile device. Furthermore, these continuous caching and pre-caching systems do little to address the expense problem and, in fact, may cost a mobile user more if the user's network service provider charges a fee based on the number of content requests (e.g., HTTP requests) made to the network by the mobile device.